By Nick Gale, WLS-890 News
(CHICAGO, IL) — There is an emergency hearing Downstate today challenging the state’s newly enacted gun ban.
Two lawsuits have been filed. One in Crawford County, the other in Effingham County. In the Effingham suit, attorney Tom DeVore will argue not about the Second Amendment, but rather how the law was enacted. He is also seeking an immediate temporary restraining order.
A lawsuit has also been filed by the Illinois State Rifle Association, the Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc., and the Second Amendment Foundation. The federal lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, is against Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, the Director of the Illinois State Police Brendan Reilly, and numerous Illinois States Attorneys.
On January 10, 2023, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation that enacted an extensive ban on firearms and large-capacity magazines in the state. Plaintiffs say the new law infringes on the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear commonly possessed firearms and ammunition magazines for the defense of self and family and other lawful purposes.
“Governor Pritzker and the legislators who voted for this law did this for self-serving political purposes and are not upholding the United States Constitution,” said Richard Pearson, Executive Director of the ISRA. “The 2nd Amendment is fundamentally about self-defense, and the 14th Amendment is about not having our rights infringed. This new law makes criminals out of law-abiding citizens.
“The real problem is that there are existing gun laws that do not work because they are not enforced,” Pearson added. “We would all be much safer if the police had the resources they need, and there were stronger consequences for the non-law-abiding citizens.”
A resident of St. Clair County and two Illinois gun stores join the three non-profit organizations seeking declaratory and injunctive relief.
Pritzker has released a statement saying that he is confident the courts will find the law constitutional.
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